to adjust to the support your body needs - each of your bodies. our sleep professionals will help you find your sleep number setting. exclusively at a sleep number store. comfort individualized. save 50% on the final closeout of our silver limited edition bed plus special financing through new years day. >> kelly: we've been talk being the fiscal cliff and getting a deal, the president is coming back and the senate is coming back. the house is not. house speaker john boehner staying in ohio. he says some contact, but communication is no substitute for senate action. it's all in the senate. >> juliet: all righty. log on to our web site for our after the show show because we're going to be giving you lots of gossip and secrets that you don't hear. >> kelly: really? >> juliet: yeah. >> clayton: that's news. i'll make sure i'm there. gregg: fox news alert. millions at the mercy of mother nature this morning after a massive storms slams

the northeast bringing snow, rain, high winds, icy road conditions. more than 50 flights have been canceled today following the grounding of more than 1700 the day before. coming up in minutes we'll go live to anna kooiman live in scranton, pennsylvania where folks are trying to dig out from more than a foot of snow. but first, bad weather making be delaying lawmakers plans to get back to the negotiating table in washington, d.c. good morning, i'm gregg jarrett in "america's newsroom.". patti ann: freight to be with you again, gregg. i'm patti ann browne in for martha maccallum. there is little to no progress reported in making a deal to avert across the board tax hikes for 90% of american households. president obama on his way back to washington right now but not all the lawmakers are there and if congress and the president do not

reach a compromise before january 1st many analysts say the economy will slide back into a recession. gregg: mike emanuel is live on capitol hill. mike, any indication of the president's next move? >> reporter: well, gregg, last time we heard the president talk about the this matter he said he was calling on congressional leaders to essentially make sure taxes do not go up on middle class americans. presumably that would be a package that continues the bush tax cuts for those making up to $250,000. he would also like to continue emergency unemployment benefits for two million americans. and beyond that, details are kind of murky at this point. so we await the president to get back to washington. we know that the senate will be back in session today. we know there have been some conversations back and forth but at this point no indication that steps have moved forward closer to a deal, gregg. gregg: so, mike, if the senate comes back, what do we expect from them today? and then obviously the

house? >> reporter: well, house speaker john boehner is in ohio. his aides told me a few moments ago ago if he has plans to travel. last night the speaker and the president of the united states met face to face to have any substantive discussions about the fiscal cliff was 10 days ago. republican leaders in the house are waiting for the senate democrats to act. they want to see what kind of bill harry reid brings forward on the floor. he is looking at republican leader mitch mcconnell to say what are you willing to accept? so here we are. there is blame game going on. there is lot of maneuvering still. bottom line we'll probably meet this weekend heading up to the fiscal cliff and we'll see what the final offer is to see if they can push it across the finish line. gregg: mike, we're getting word the president has nod no meaningful conversation with anybody own capitol hill, especially john boehner and yet we do hear,

that, you know, the seeds have been talking. that staffers have actually been negotiating. what do you hear? >> reporter: that's right. we heard there have been ongoing discussions, taking place throughout the christmas holiday but at this point republicans are saying they took a beating, if you will, trying to lead in the house, a deal that did not go very far. so they're saying, okay, harry reid, senate democrats, see what you can do, see what you put forward and see if it is good enough to possibly pass both the senate and the house that is a tricky situation to navigate at this point because the senate and house are obviously quite divided at this point. gregg: they surely are. mike emanuel, live on capitol hill. mike, thank you very much. >> reporter: thank you, gregg. patti ann: what would it mean if lawmakers fail to strike a deal. according to the tax policy center, 90% of americans could see a tax hike in 2013. 21 million people will pay

more in payroll taxes. families making between 40 and $65,000 a year will have to pay an extra two grand to the government. gregg: coming up we'll talk with republican nick mulvaney whose house budget committee is obviously on the forefront of the fiscal talk. so we'll try to get the latest from him in just a moment. patti ann: meanwhile, gregg, we have new warnings from the treasury department that if a fiscal deal isn't reached our government will have to turn to extraordinary measures when the debt limit hits its ceiling. $16.4 trillion probably on monday. fox business network's stuart varney joins us now. hi, stu. you say this is the big story people aren't talking about? >> it is a sleeper issue, patti ann. on monday the government officially runs out of money and it can not borrow anymore. so it will have to shift all kind of cash around to make sure they can pay their bills and maybe they can do

that for a couple of months. means you can kick the can, eight weeks be maybe, until the absolute crunch comes. there are consequences to this. it could be that america will be downgraded again. after all back in august of 2011 the last time we had this debt ceiling crisis, we were downgraded, no longer aaa. they're threatening the same thing again if we can't get a deal this time around and again the government runs out of money come monday. it is a very big deal. it is pressing right upon us and new year's eve is the right upon us. patti ann: what a happy new year's eve we'll have. any impact on mortgages? >> no. no impact on mortgages that is an opinion. ben bernanke says look, i will spend $45 billion each and every month buying mortgages so that the interest rate on mortgages stays very, very low. that is entirely separate from fiscal cliff, totally

separate from the debt ceiling crisis. i don't think, patti anne, you will have any impact on mortgage rates despite the crisis that is upon us. patti ann: that is good news for us. stuart varney, thank you as always. >> thank you. gregg: the debt ceiling first established in 1917. since then the debt limit has been raised 102 times, congress voted to raise the debt limit, 11 times since 2001. right now the national debt is over 16 trillion dollars and counting every second. there it is. patti ann: meanwhile hopes of a budget deal in washington and higher home prices are combining to send the price of oil back up again. heating oil rising four cents to more than $3 a gallon. wholesale gasoline rising six cents to $2.78 a gallon. current national average is $3.26. national gas up 4 cents to

3.38 for 1000 cubic feet. gregg: we are taking a dangerous winter storm blamed for nine death at this hour. that storm is slamming the northeast. this is video from worcester, massachusetts. this was actually this morning. you can see what folks are trying to deal with there. the storm hitting the middle of the country overnight. dumping more than a foot and a half of snow in some areas grounding flights up in the air, stranding travelers, leaving hundreds of thousands of folks without any power. anna kooiman is live in clark summit that is just north of scranton, pennsylvania, and what is it like there? >> reporter: gregg, i can tell you the storm is expected to dump a foot or two of show and all done in parts of the northeast. here in clarks summit, in northwest pennsylvania, we had to stop here last night pause the roads were simply getting too bad. there is it still four to eight inches of snow on the ground. this area is really causing

program for commuters this morning. the town of clarks summit had a budget surplus because of lack of snow and able to stockpile salt for roadways they're using for this snow. although the storm has claimed seven lives the borough president is happen that the first snow of the season hasn't been a major blizzard for them so far. >> we're on a good track this year. and you know, the weather, you take what you get and we're going to make lemonade out of it i guess. >> reporter: all the roadways are a real problem for commuters trying to get to work, gregg. the kids, who are still out of school for winter break, are really enjoying the nice white fluffy stuff and grabbing snow skis some of them got for christmas and hand call. gregg: good for them. anna, the storm is not finished with the northeast, right? >> reporter: it is still coming down here. it will be a dangerous 12 to

24 hours for some portions across the northeast. in fact it is still snowing in parts of eastern and northern new york as well and some of the new england states. also some of the coastal states like maine and massachusetts and rhode island, they're dealing with freezing rein and sleet and even more snow and high winds that are causing problems for commuters as well. in new york state governor andrew cuomo activated his emergency power center and companies criticized for the response following superstorm sandy that they need to be on their toes. gregg: anna kooiman, live just north of scranton, pennsylvania. thank you very much. patti ann: unfortunately this is the just the beginning for the northeast. winter storm warnings still in effect for most of that region as well as michigan. according to flightware.com, more than 1700 flights were canceled yesterday and more than 350 flights nationwide

have been already canceled today. gregg: we are getting word from a spokesman for former president h.w. bush saying mr. bush has been moved now to intensive care. he is in guarded condition. he is 88 years old and the former president has been hospitalized in houston since november 23rd. bronchitis and a lingering cough. we'll get a live report on his condition later on in the newscast. patti ann: those are just some of the many stories we're following this morning in "america's newsroom." still to come a new battle over the president's health care law and the supreme court's latest ruling against one of america's largest companies and what they denied and what this could mean for other employers. gregg: the storm system working its way up the coastline causing messy traffic, airport delays. we've got video from one of the hardest-hit areas. >> pretty rough. we've seen a lot of accidents this far in ohio turnpike.

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patti ann: we have some new job numbers just in and they give us a new snapshot of the economy. the average number of people in the u.s. seeking unemployment benefits over the past month fell to the lowest level since march of 2008. it's a sign that the job market may be healing. the report included a caveat though for the latest week. president obama declared monday a holiday for federal workers and many state offices followed suit and were unable to provide complete data for last week's jobless claims. gregg: well a very important ruling over the so-called contraceptive mandate in the health care law. the u.s. supreme court has denied accident -- the request by the christian owned hobby lobby, for a requirement to provide

contraception coverage and the fines that come with that if the company does not comply. jonah goldberg, editor-at-large at "national review" and fox news contributor. jonah, what do you make of the supreme court saying, we don't want to decide this? >> yeah, sort of a more complicated story. it was really justice sotomayor as the justice who oversees the 10th service denying request for injunction to basically stop the law being implemented for the hobby lobby. come january 1, the hobby lo violate its religious conscience, owners of the company or incur penalties of a one million $300,000 a day. gregg: right. >> it is a stable situation because my, what the obama administration's argument basically says, religion is entirely private matter. you're allowed to have your private little ritual in head inch a way rooms and synagogues and mosque but the second it enters the

public square it has to be bent and contorted to fit whatever the government says it should do. so the, the obama administration doesn't talk about freedom of religion. it talks about freedom of worship which is distinction they think it is very important. it means you are allowed to do whatever you want religiously in private, but the second it touches the government square the government wins over religious conscience. >> what strikes me, and we've done this story before, the folks at hobby lobby are not just using this to avoid something. they appear to be incredibly sincere in their religious beliefs. >> yeah. i mean, there is no profit motive in here that i think is really meaningful. this is the biggest company so far to question the hhs mandate and, you know, i think people would understand it more viscerally if we were talking about the kosher butchers or halal butchers or if someone was told they had to pay for a system that would mulch korans or

something but you actually talk about forcing a company to pay for what this company at least, owners of this company truly believe is a chemical abortion and everyone says, that is just health care and there is nothing that they can do. important to point out that hobby lobby's fight is not over. this just denies a temporary injunction. gregg: right. >> their appeal could still work through the system. gregg: sure. i found this interesting, jonah. the 10th circuit which ruled earlier, they said the hobby lobby is not a religious group. isn't that interesting? i mean because they clearly are. >> right. i mean the logic that the administration is using saying any organization that once it is for-profit has to cease being religious and, so what that basically, and there is a real weird irony here. for years the left is complaining how the market comercial eyes everything,

everything is materialistic, doesn't leave room for the transcedent or spiritual, whatever. yet their basic argument the second you're a for-profit company any religious objections you have for anything have to be kept and checked in private and you have to do whatever the government says. that to me, seems to me that there should be some room forgive on this. obviously you can't have ritual human sacrifice as part of your religious belief. gregg: no. >> but we're a religious nation and they can make a little room for this sort of thing. gregg: but hobby lobby is saying you know what? we're not going to comply. so what happens do you think? >> you know, better question for some lawyers out of deference to my eternal soul, i'm not a lawyer, but --. gregg: we well, i am, and eternal damnation. >> i'm sorry. gregg: cross i have to bear. >> a talk, a lot of customer base an fans want the place to close down out of their christian conscience. that is lot to ask of a

company putting a lot of people out of work. at the same time they may have to incur the fines and work it out. i don't know what will happen. gregg: they are good folks. we talked to them before on the air. they're great folks. >> they're just trying to do what's right. gregg: i think they are. they have a conscience and they really feel strongly about this. so we'll see what happens. jonah goldberg, good to see you, thanks. >> great to be here. thank you. patti ann: you want to see this video. just when you thought it was safe to walk by the water, a massive shark-filled aquarium bursts at a shopping mall where this unsettling scene took place. gregg: just in time for the holiday season, a church's long fight to rebuild after being hit by a devastating tornado. hey, it is finally over.

gregg: weather crews in ohio out in full force right now working to clear the snow from the roads and major highways there. heavy snow and gusty winds causing zero visibility in some areas and drivers urged toe use caution. some say they have lost track of the number of accidents. >> i've seen 10 cars in an accident. i saw a lexus fly into a ditch. i saw a semi-truck

jackknife. >> i've lost count of number of cars i've seen in the ditch. i saw a jackknifed tractor-trailer. i saw a horse trailer that was turned over. i think people are just not really driving slow enough for the conditions. >> i wish people would slow down a little bit, you know. it's pretty slick. gregg: airlines already announcing delays and cancellation this is morning. 60% of flights canceled at ohio's hopkins airport yesterday. down state new york also hit very hard. patti ann: yeah. and that is where anton lewis is live right now. he is in orange county, new york. good morning. >> patti ann, good morning. we can tell you for the most part it started to taper off and started to pick back up. what we're experiencing is little thicker rain. we won't call it sleet nonetheless but nonetheless it created some serious situations on our roadways. so anyone that is traveling in and around this area be

very careful. the snowplows are out but right now the roads are slick from a mixture of snow already left. some of the rain, may not have been plowed and cars tracking it in. snowplows whenever they get to it can get to it. walking the sidewalk the snow is getting packed. what you have on top of that. the rain is coming down and temperature is dropping so it will make it pretty slick. however, and we know how the kids like to do this, and maybe the old man can try it is still firm enough but not too firm you can try to do a snow angel, before we get away from orange county, i'm going to try to see what i can do. new year's gift to you guys there. hold on one second. i will get back in the spot. right here. >> be careful. >> one, two, three. see how hard it is? see how hard it is? patti ann: perfect angel

snow. >> reporter: we're trying. it race little tougher to get down. it has been like that. all because the temperature started to drop. just know if you're leaving your house wherever it is you're going be sure to be very, very careful. gregg was talking if you're going to be flying there are significant flight cancellations. traveling any airport, particularly coming to our area for new year's for the ball drop next week be very, very careful and check with the airline before you depart. very latest from orange county, back inside to you, gregg and patti ann. patti ann: antwan lewis, game for anything. gregg: you're just showing off now. patti ann: a battle to rebuild a church destroyed in the 2011 tuscaloosa tornado. for more than a year the pastor fought insurers, fema and the city all in hopes of once again holding services on the devastated property. now the construction is finally underway and elizabeth prann is live in atlanta to tell us about that.

hi, elizabeth. the holiday season extra special for the church members, right? >> reporter: yes, very special this year because there were dozens of churches which were flattened off tornados in tuscaloosa of 2011. there were so many churches that just don't have the resources to rebuild. 82-year-old dorothy tiner couldn't believe her eyes what she saw the 2011 tore dade snows -- tornados did to her tuscaloosa church. >> i was shocked how much damage it did. >> reporter: the church was damaged beyond repair when the storm was hit and they were forced to use another church miles away for sunday prayer. >> 2011 the heart of our city was ripped apart by this tornado. >> reporter: but the spirit of service still remains on the old site. parishioners use the parking lot for weekly meetings and community service. >> we kind of became a distribution spot. people were coming in from

all over the united states with supplies, with food, with clothing. >> reporter: staying in the community is important for everyone involved. even a tight budget and zoning restrictions won't prevent them from rebuilding according to church leaders who say this is what they're called to do. >> we felt assured that god wanted us to come back. where he planted us in the first place. so it wasn't a casual decision. >> reporter: now church members breathing a sigh relief as the construction site remained completely unscathed after the tornados that hit christmas day in alabama. patti ann, back to you. patti ann: elizabeth prann reporting live for us. thank you. gregg: a health setback for president george h.w. bush. we learned the 88-year-old former president has now been moved to intensive care. in moments we'll get an update on his condition. patti ann: in upstate new york a community mourns the loss of two firefighters killed by a crazed gunman. what the firefighters recovering are now saying. >> right now the whole world

is grieving. it was amazing when i talked to the chief from the belfast, belfast, northern ireland, for 10 minutes on the phone. when he got done he was in tears on the other end somewhere around the world. so you guys haven't been forgotten.

want to know what i did in the last five hours? i played a round of golf. then i read a book while teaching myself how to play guitar; ran ten miles while knitting myself a sweater; jumped out of a plane. finally, i became a ping pong master while recording my debut album. how you ask? with 5-hour energy. i get hours of energy now -- no crash later. wait to see the next five hours. gregg: the latest now on our nation's 41st president. president george h.w. bush is in intensive care. he is in houston.

he is fighting a suborn fever that has gotten a whole lot worse a bush family spokesperson saying more details about his condition outside the bush home. take a listen. >> well, the president was admitted to the icu, the intensive care unit at methodist on sunday. he is dealing, has been dealing with a series of set packs. it includes a persistent fever. doctors are doing everything they can to wrap their arms around it. they're cautiously optimistic that that ircurrent course of treatment will be effective. the president he, they don't put you in the icu because things are going well. we're obviously hoping that the medicines and treatments can help him turn things around. gregg: we wish him well. andrea watkins, fox affiliate, outside the hospital. what is the latest? >> reporter: well, gregg, i wish i could tell you how

the former president did overnight but we're still waiting an update for how he did from the president's former spokesperson i should say, gregg jarrett. you heard from. we put a call to him a couple minutes ago. we have not heard back. this will be the president's fourth day in intensive care at methodist hospital. like you heard the biggest concern is the fever that he has had. they haven't been able to control it. the hospital has had president bush, under, daily watch for several weeks with bronchitis that started in november. we were told the only concern back then was a persistent cough they were treating with medications and breathing treatments. his condition was actually improving according to mcgrath. he had a couple bad days last week. problems snowballed with more weakness and this fever. it is tough for any 88-year-old, even a man active throughout his life right up until a few years

ago, he was celebrating birthdays by skydiving. his wife, barbara, has been by his side this whole time. thee is optimistic. all of his sons have visited and also, he is being visited now about the youngest in the family, dorothy flew in from bethesda, maryland yesterday, gregg. gregg: dorothy watkins, thanks very much. coming up we'll speak with a doctor to learn more about the former doctor's condition, the for former president's condition from the doctor himself. patti ann: a new push to end the bloody war in syria. russia's foreign minister and the u.n. envoy, for syria are meeting today and both are calling for a a long-sd piece initiative that calls for a transitional government leading to elections. this meeting coming as new violence erupts between government and rebel forces.

that violence has left dozens dead. in fact so far the death toll, it was at 40,000 and it now supposedly topped 45,000. but we are having a meeting this weekend between that u.n. envoy for syria and russia's foreign minister. they will be discussing this plan for a transitional government and we're going to talk more about that right now with fox news military analyst general jack keane, a four-star general and former vice chief of staff of the army. thank you for joining us, general. >> good to be here, patti ann. patti ann: back in june the world powers in geneva came up with this proposal for a unity government. both the assad regime and the opposition rejected it because it would involve the two sides sharing power. now they want to revive the plan but is it desirable? >> the reason simply because assad once he begins to

loosen the absolute control of he has of everybody around him in the military he is severely weakened and very vulnerable to being killed even by the people around him. so he knows that in the back of his mind. it is all or nothing proposition for him similar to saddam hussein and qaddafi. even the rebels themselves. they have lost 40,000 in this fight and they're not about to share power with anybody. particularly the assad government. i mean these are people they have been fighting now for almost two years. patti ann: yeah. >> so it's not in the cards. patti ann: yeah. and the plan is vague when it comes to assad specifically during that summer meeting in geneva. there was a push to call specifically for assad's ouster but russia opposed that. and as you say, assad is not going to go quietly. russia though very involved. how important is russia's role in all of this? >> we certainly tried to use russia to have influence over the assad regime, one to get a cease-fire, two, to remove assad, you know, from

power. the russians have always pushed back on that. listen, the relationship with syria is in their national interests. they have got a port on the mediterranean that is in syria, a military base. it is very important to them strategically. i don't think you will see a real hand being played by russia until they know for a fact that assad is going to go. patti ann: meanwhile though, the envoy, lack tau brahimi is meeting with the russia's foreign minister lavrov this weekend . what do you see coming out of this meeting?. >> i think there will be some proclamation they made some progress. one, assad is not participating. two, the rebels are not participating. they're the principles involved in this. i just don't see us moving in a positive direction. certainly we would all hope for that but i don't think it is realistic. patti ann: the big concern is the chemical weapons. what happens to those if there is some sort of chaos? >> well the worst situation, patti ann, is actually assad is still in power but he

begins to lose control of some of the chemical sites because of the movements that the rebels are making and the success that they're enjoying. that would force the jordanians, the israelis and the united states to determine what are we going to do about those sites now? do we go in on the ground? do we bomb some of those? if we decide to go in on the ground because some of those sites would actually require that, we could not do that with assad's air force still being in power. we would never put troops on the ground there, let them be have ferable to -- vulnerable to assad's air power. we could have to escalate the conflict obviously and do something we've been resistant to do that, take his air assets down and his airfield down. that is the worst and most complicated situation for us. to lose some of those sites while assad is still in power and he still has his air force. patti ann: what do you anticipate as the most likely potential scenario here? >> well the most likely scenario is that the rebels are going to continue to

move slowly and squeeze assad. they will eventually lay siege to damascus and this time they will be successful. they will succeed because the logistics and internal lines of supplies have improved. they failed the last time when they tried this. and then they will move to the coast and move north. and assad will either be killed by that point, flee to another country, or go north and west to the enclave that the alawites have up in the mountains and seek refuge there. patti ann: all right. general jack keane, thank you so much as always for joining us. >> good talking to you, patti ann. gregg: all right. do you happen to have plans for the new year? we hope it includes fox news and our all-american new year's eve, beginning at 11:00 p.m. eastern time new year's eve. megyn kelly, bill hemmer will again bring you the big event live from times square in new york city. you can be part of it by

texting us your happy new year's message. it is simple. type the letter u text, one word, leave a space, type a brief message send it to 36288. utext, your message and to 36288. watch for your message on new year's eve with megyn and bill. sound like fun. america is on the verge again of the debt clock. it is rising. the milestone could be reached in days. what emergency plans may be put into effect? patti ann: are you looking for a job right now? who is recruiting american workers hard with promises of big benefits? >> get resume's every day coming across our desk and if you see a good one you're jumping on it and hiring good people immediately. [ male announcer ] how do you measure happiness?

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patti ann: a new report just out shows sales this holiday season did not live up to expectations across much of the country. the south seemed to fare better than other parts of the u.s. electronics, clothing jewelry, and home goods selling more this year than last. but experts say overall this season's weak sales could have repercussions for 2013. retailers will make fewer orders to restock shelves and discounts will eventually hurt profitability. gregg: anxiety is certainly rising in washington as the treasury department warns that not reaching a fiscal

cliff deal could mean disaster. the u.s. government may hit its legal borrowing limit by monday, setting in motion emergency measures to try to keep the government, you know, to pay their bills for several more weeks. doug schoen joins us, former advisor to president bill clinton, fox news contributor. terry holt joins us, former bush-cheney national spokesman and former senior advisor to the rnc. good to see you both. doug, what is amazing to a lot of people is that they're not even talking to each other. the last meaningful conversation between the president and boehner, for example, was 10 days ago. look, when you were in the clinton white house that's not the way things worked, right? >> absolutely not, gregg. president clinton and newt gingrich, the then speaker, despite their very real differences were talking all the time.

i think at one point they spent a total of almost 35 hours in total together. bottom line, there was always a sense of national purpose that i think is missing here, gregg. bottom line on both side i think there's a lot to be accounted for. gregg: you know, terry, let me put up on the board what this means to the average american. all right. 300 bucks if you're the lowest taxpayer, there you are but you're talking about if you make 40 to 50,000, $1700. go to the next page. look at this. i mean you're talking about folks who make, you could be in new york a firefighter and a teacher and you're making within that range of 200 to 500,000. you're talking about 13,000, $14,000 in increased taxes. there is the last page. 500,000, $34,000. do you think people really appreciate what's about to

happen to them? >> i think they appreciate that the american political system is talking all about raising taxes and not nearly enough about cutting spending. you know, when the average american families gets into a little bit of financial trouble, they think of ways to cut back their spending. they don't automatically think they will go to their boss and get a raise. but that is exactly what is happening in washington today. we're talking about how much more money we'll ask the taxpayer to shoe in for this government, this bloated, overspending government. it is about ready to hit its debt ceiling the president might have won this election but he didn't win the authority to write a blank check to continue to spend and spend and spend, to hit the debt ceiling and then go blowing through it. there may not be much conversation in washington between speaker boehner and president obama but the democrats control two third of this government. they might think about having a conversation among themselves, the senate and the president, to bring something that might have a

chance of resolving these problems and maybe, they better think more about cutting spending before coming to us for more money. gregg: you know what, doug? karl rove wrote an op-ed in "the wall street journal" which he basically says, the president think it is all about him. the more mr. obama makes everything about him, the more stubborn he is likely to be when flexibility would be better. success requires adjustments, including a greater willingness to compromise and seek common ground with his opposition. fair point? >> oh, i think it is a fair point. i think it is a fair point on both sides. we had a framework that did what terry described. it was called bowles-simpson. the president didn't support it. paul ryan didn't support it. it didn't have the kind of bipartisan consensus we needed. gotten us $4 in spending cuts for one dollar in revenue increase. bottom line we lack common purpose as a nation. both parties i believe are

to be blamed. gregg, as we go to the end of the year and the christmas season i would hope we would have a common purpose, put partisanship aside and say how do we put the nation first? sadly, no one is doing that. gregg: it is interesting what doug just said, terry. i want you to react to that. he says both sides will get blamed. why is it the polls show only republicans really get the blame? >> well the president has the bully pulpit. he has the ability to go out and have campaign speeches and control the national debate in a way that the house republicans simply don't have. the president has the ability to shape the opinions that are being made about, and how the news is being covered. so he has a huge advantage and he has demonstrated time and again to demonstrate campaign tactics over the nuts and bolts of policy and debate here in washington about how to really fix our problems. if he would spent half as much time talking to people in the senate or the house

about how to fix these problems as he has jetting around the country holding campaign-style events, we might be in a better place today but we're not. gregg: doug, before the talks collapsed, boehner showed a willingness to raise the debt ceiling for an entire year if the president would agree to making significant cuts in entitlement programs. what's wrong with that deal? >> there is noing wrong with it. i think part of the problem was as we saw with plan b, it isn't clear speaker boehner controls his caucus. what he is hoping sadly, if we go over the fiscal cliff, he is reelected january 3rd and he will have a little more leverage to get a deal like that done. i think' grew with terry, democrats have to do more to restrain spending but particularly rein in entitlements. hopefully saner minds on both sides will prevail before january 1st. if not, right after january 1st. gregg: we shall see. >> going over the fiscal

cliff has been president obama's mission from the very beginning. the fact that he -- >> i don't believe that for a second. i don't believe it for a second. gregg: you reilly think he wants to do this. >> absolutely. because you ownly gets his way, he only gets his way if he backs us all up against the wall and says you have no choice. it is my way or the highway. that has been his negotiating. >> very sad somebody would talk like that and thing like that. >> it is i agree. happy new year. >> happy new year. gregg: not really. patti ann: well, panic at a shopping mall. wait until you see what happens, a 33-ton tank suddenly bursts. what is sent into the mall. we'll tell you. gregg: a final farewell for the firefighters shot dead while responding to a christmas eve fire. how a community is remembering them. how an officer is being hailed as a hero in helping to save others. >> at that point, i mean, i am no different than anybody

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gregg: we're getting word that one state may start

arming school principals to protect students from attacks like the one in newtown, connecticut. attorney general in arizona, tom horn, offering a proposal that would allow a school principal or another staff member to be trained to use a firearm. his plan would require a change in state law. currently allows only police officers to carry firearms on school grounds. >> we would provide the training in marksmanship, in judgment. there would be simulations, to be sure they're well-trained to handle an emergency. and then they would be able to have a gun at school, locked up in a very secure place. >> i don't want anymore firearms in the school whether it is locked in a safe or trained person to me, in my personal opinion would be safer because they can't be everywhere. >> a normal person not used to the stress of say, a armed gunman may not be able to respond the same way. gregg: if the attorney general's proposal is approved by state lawmakers,

participation would be entire tirely optional. patti ann: yet another fiscal cliff concern. the price of milk, if congress doesn't take action before new year's day the price could more than double. dominic di-natale is live in los angeles right now to explain for us. hi, dominic. >> reporter: hi, patti ann. milk could reach eight bucks a gallon. currently $3.65. a bill that covers billions of dollars in agricultural subsidies. if they don't do that government will have to buy up massive quantities of milk because of outdated 1949 law. they could sell their milk directly to the government first, would be obliged to pay twice the market rate. that would create a milk shortage and spike the prices consumers pay. the senate passed a farm bill. agricultural committee passed a similar bill. they are not identical.

differences aren't so wide just that the full house of representatives hasn't approved the bill and it has come down to the wire, patti ann. >> the farm bill is low hanging ornament on the congressional christmas tree, if they just embrace it, they can automatically come up with 10 of billions of dollars in budget savings. they can figure out where else they need to cut spending after that. >> reporter: that would quite a gift. back to you, patti ann. patti ann: so, dominic is there a way for them to dig themselves out of it? >> reporter: chris was saying that a quick way to solve this would be to have a quick conference committee, iron out the relatively minor differences and really get it done. just last week the secretary of agriculture tom vilsack told reporters this is bad outcome if the permanent law comes into effect. to attach a farm bill extension to the fiscal cliff legislation if a compromise is reached in time. talks underway this morning. the clock is ticking what farmers are calling the dairy fiscal cliff. patti ann.

patti ann: aptly named. dominic di-natale live in l.a. for us. thanks. gregg: the deadly winter weather is far from over. new warnings of another powerful system heading our way. the already storm-pummeled northeast really hurting. >> new concerns about what if any progress is being made on those fiscal cliff talks. south carolina republican nick mulvaney is on the house budget committee and he joins us live, next. let's give thanks - for an idea. a grand idea called america. the idea that if you work hard, if you have a dream, if you work with your neighbors... you can do most anything. this led to other ideas

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sleep number. comfort individualized. patti ann: winter only just began six days ago and yet another powerful and deadly winter storm is bombard -rg the northeasing the northeast right now. the nor'easter bringing heavy snow, rain and wind. coastal cities dealing with heavy sleet and rain. a brand-new hour of "america's newsroom." hello again i'm patti ann brown in for martha maccallum. gregg: i'm gregg jarrett in for bill hemmer. gregg: this system has spawned tornadoes causing blizzard-like conditions and killing at least nine people and now another storm is on the way. patti ann: we have team coverage this morning. maria molina in the extreme

weather center tracking this next system, but we begin with catherine parada in worchester, massachusetts, good morning. >> reporter: we are about an hour west of boston and this is what we've experiencing right now. i have to tell you this is definitely an improvement. we rolled into the city before 4:00 this morning. at that point in time we were seeing a lot of sleet, then it changed over to snow, now we are getting a lot of rain at this point in time. this is what it looks like right now. you can see there is snow on the sidewalk there, you look in the street you see a lot of the slush and especially here you can see a mix of this watery shreurwhat the watery slush right here. i what you are was speaking with people here and they said it prapts isn' perhaps the worst winter storm they've seen but it's a long term. it started wednesday night and we are still getting precipitation now.

it is an intense storm, you saw what it did in the midwest and south and what it's done in upstate new york, in pennsylvania and the ohio river valley. right here the fact that he's starting to improve here in massachusetts is certainly a good thing especially after all the disruptions it's caused in many other places. patti ann: devastation. thank you. gregg: where is the storm heading right now? well, maria molina always knows. she is our meteorologist live in the fox extreme weather center. hi, maria. >> reporter: good to see you, good morning, everyone. the storm system is ripping through portions of new england and the northeast producing a lot of heavy snow in upstate new york, new england and coastal areas where we're not dealing with the snow in places like new york city or boston but we are dealing with very heavy rain. several inches of rain have dropped over portions of new jersey in the nighttime hours. we have a storm right on the heels of this one out towards the west producing snow across

portions of the northern plains and rockies. doesn't look too impressive right now but it should get its act together and over the next two days begin to produce areas of snow across the midwest, areas already hit hard with storm. the good news that it's next one is it's not forecast to be as intense as the storms that produced christmas day tornadoes across the south and a foot of snow in arsan saw and illinois. historical snowstorm producing a lot of snow in buffalo new york, kids enjoying the snow. we've actually had a lack of snow in parts of upstate new york and the midwest. the no producing snow in areas that actually do need it. showers tapering off across new york city. heavier batches of rain in the city of boston, and the wind gusts 30 to 40 miles per hour and that's really what has produced white out conditions. you can see in the imaging in cleveland, ohio, and across

indiana as the form moved through those areas. the storm producing delays, nothing too major laguardia you are looking at delays averaging 30 minutes. a little more than 20 minutes in philly international. we should see the delays improving as the storm continues to pull out of the area and by tomorrow it should be gone and you'll have a bit of a quieter day. winter state warnings in place in upstate new york, vermont, new hampshire and the state of maine not so much because of the snowfall even though it will be impressive in areas it's because of the wind. when you get wind gusts in excess of 30 miles an hour that will be picking up that snowfall blowing it around and producing white out conditions. as far as additional snowfall goes across the state of maine that's where you're looking at impressive amounts, over a foot of snow already expected over what was already had. tomorrow you could be looking at total accumulations of over two feet of snow. gregg: really? was that video of george bailey

saving his brother harry? i could have sworn i saw that on that. >> reporter: listen i hope we get snow in new york coming up soon. i want to do snowball fights and all that good stuff. gregg: thank you very much. maria molina. patti ann: the national weather service now confirming the christmas day storm sis people spawned more than 30 tornadoes. one twister in mobile, alabama was rated and ef2 with speak winds up to 135 miles an hour. the governor of that state today plans to tour areas damaged by the storm. >> you can't tell it's our neighborhood. there is a house right there that -- it was at the stop sign, stoplight and it's completely caved in. there is a church down the street. unless the steeple was attached you couldn't tell it was a church? we were sitting in the living room doing christmas with the family, all of a sudden the sirens went off. not long after that we heard what sounded like a freight

train coming through. we grabbed the women and children, ran to the bathroom, threw them in the tub and my brother-in-law and i stood watch over everybody. >> an ef3 twister was reported in myths miss with speak winds of 140 miles an hour. gregg: funerals are set for two firefighters killed in the christmas eve ambush in webster, new york. calling hours will be held tomorrow at the local high school for michael chaparini, and tomas tomaski. they will be laid to rest following separate funerals, sunday and monday. they were killed in a sniper attack after a coon victoriad felon started the fire, he went on a shooting rampage killing the two firefighters and wounding two others before

taking his own life. they are crediting the efforts of off-duty police officer john ritter, he was injured by shrapnel while trying to protect the wounded men. >> as i pulled my vehicle to the north side of the road i am behind the fire. at no point did i see firemen, at no point did i see anyone actively shooting, i didn't see anyone in the area, so i am probably seconds -- i come around that corner seconds after the fire department gets there in my assumption, i don't have a sense of anything, other than a round or something impact my windshield, then i hear multiple popping sounds after that in addition to the ones i heard before. at that point i determined someone is shooting. at that point i mean i am no different than anybody standing in this room, i'm driving to work, you know. eupl a police officer. i don't have any tools of my

trade with me, you know, i don't have body armor, i don't have long-range weapons, my radio, i don't have anything. and i'm in a situation where someone is actively engaging me, so at that point my -- one of my first things was a, take cover, b, try to get out of the kill zone, which -- and c try to keep people from going in there. gregg: the gunman had been convicted of killing his grandmother in the 1980s and served 17 years in prison after he pled down from murder to manslaughter. he was on probation until 2006. in webster last night the community gathered to remember the firefighters who were killed and pray for those who are still recovering from their wounds. the chief of the fire department says, support is pouring in from all over the globe. >> right now the whole world is grieving. it was amazing when i talked to this chief from belfast, i'm sorry, it was belfast northern ireland for ten minutes on the

phone. when he got done he was in tears on the other end somewhere around the world. so you guys haven't been forgotten. gregg: the two surviving firefighters are said to be awake and breathing on their own after surgery. patti ann: in georgia a man is accused of shooting at utility workers as they tried to restore power to his home. it happened in gainesville on christmas night. storms brought down power lines at donald deal's home. the crews were there to make repairs when deals started shooting at them. the sergeant says the first thing he thought of was the ambush on the firefighters in webster. >> copy-cat crimes are something that concern us greatly when we have an incident such as what took place in webster, new york. of course that was our biggest concern. thankfully it turned out that was not the case here. they said the subject came out of his residence, bee gone to berate them, curse at them and threaten them with a handgun prior to shooting a couple of thoughts in their direction.

patti ann: they say deal was very drunk that might. a s.w.a.t. team had to be called to get him out of his home. he finally surrendered and is charged with aggravated assault. a big dealtment between toyota and hundreds of drivers suing or accelerator problems. the deal worth more than a billion dollars would be the largest settlement in history even srofl involving cardieffects. lori rothman joins us live with more. >> reporter: this settlement one of the largest in the automotive industry. toyota to pay 1.2 billion after drivers said the gas fed alwould stick and lead to unintended acceleration. at least one accident in 2010 involved a sticking pedal and unwanted exce acceleration. at part of the deal toyota

admits no wrongdoing and wants to anyplace in the bud any costly lawsuits. they are facing two other lawsuits a consumer fraud suit and ans lawsuit filed by 28 states. a u.s. investigation found that driver error was largely to blame for most of the acts for sticky gas pedals. the investigation also found floor mats got in the way. toyota's reputation really suffered back in 2009, 2010. it even led to congressional hearings. toyota u.s. sales were flat at that time but they rebounded nicely with toyota joining a record year this year selling 9.7 million vehicles and predicting a sales gain of 2% in the new year. toyota stock up 41% this year, one last point here, the $1.1 billion settlement not a don deal, the agreement needs approval of a u.s. district judge. patti ann: thank you.

you can watch lori with melissa francis on the fox business network every day at 1:00pm eastern time. gregg: i want to till you about this massive recall of a baby product, four national retailers have agreed to recall more than 150,000 nap-nanny baby recliners. the consumer product safety commission warning the nap-nanny has dangerous defects. at least five infants reportedly died. dozens more have fallen out of their recliners. it covers nap-nanny generations one and two and the chill model. if you happen to have the chill model you don't want to use it. the company that made it has told the "associated press" it has gone out of business. patti ann: george h.w. bush is in the intensive care unit of a houston hospital. he has been battling bronchitis and a persistent cough for over a month and there are new concerns about the former president's health.

gregg: details on that. monday the u.s. government set to hit its debt limit again. what could happen to our economy if congress does not raise the sealing. former krerbgs o doug holtz ekin joins us live. patti ann: we are just days away from huge tax increases unless a deal is made by january 1st to avoid the fiscal cliff. >> if in fact we do go over the fiscal cliff it means the economy is going to go down pretty sharply. [ buzzing ] bye dad. drive safe. k. love you. [ chirping, buzzing continues ] [ horn honks ] [ buzzing continues ] [ male announcer ] the sprint drive first app. blocks and replies to texts while you drive. we can live without the &. visit sprint.com/drive.

. gregg: you expect accrued of lines when you're shopping. how about sharks? look at those cameras rolling. a giant aquarium bursts, e phroedz insid explodes inside a mall in sang high china it sends

glass, water, everywhere, including sharks. fortunately the sharks weren't terribly hungry at the moment and they didn't get very far. patti ann: george h.w. bush is in intensive care at a houston hospital battling a subject born fever. the former president has been sick for a few weeks now. on november 7th he was admitted to methodist hospital in houston what cough. he was later released only to be readmitted on november 23rd. by december 13th a hospital spokesman said the former president was improving and should be able to celebrate christmas at home with his family. two days before christmas mr. bush was moved to the intensive care unit at methodist due to that stubborn fever. yesterday a spokesman saying the former president had a subject born fever that won't go away. so what are we to make of all of this. dr. bob laheads is the match of

medicine. he's been in intensive care since sunday: it wasn't until three days later that his spokesman came out and acknowledged it to the public, what do you make of that? >> it is somewhat worry so many. as i mentioned yesterday he's 88 years old. he has a number of problems. on november the 3rd when he was admitted he had track keel bronchitis, an inflammation of the tubes that go into the lungs, both small and large. it was apparently a viral infection. what they did was treated him with steroids which is the standard procedure, and they treated him with other things, other medications like antibioticses in the hope that they would prevent a bacterial super infection. well, it may be that the bacterial super infection has happened, and that is the big concern, because what happens when you run a fever, especially a high fever, after being on steroids and being treated for

tracheal bronchitis is you could have a blood infection. somebody who is 88 has a tough time battling an infection that is bacterial, the blood could be infected and a number of other things. patti ann: a spokesperson said the fever is not responding to any of the things they have tried so far. he did say that the president is awake, he's alert, he's joking with doctors, but he went onto say, you know, they don't put you in intensive care because you're doing well. true enough, they said he was going to be home by christmas, so things obviously not going according to plan. >> well he is the former president of the united states, a little care on our side would be good there. i think that's why he's in the icu, the intensive care unit. for the average patient that is an elderly patient that runs a temperature like this he would be observed. of course an elderly patient runs the risk of dehydration, so i'm sure he's getting a lot of fluid and getting antibacterial

antibiotics. remember the first infection was a virus this may well have become a bacterial infection. they are difficult to treat. we know he has had other health problems over his life. he is confined to a wheelchair because of neurological issues. i'm concerned about that. i'm concerned that he may be developing a pneumonia. that is what everybody is worried about. patti ann: we need to stress no is really what we are doing here is speculating. the hospital, very respectful of the former president's privacy w really haven't said much at all about his k-fpbl condition. the only word we have on the latest move to intensive care is from the president's own spokesperson, and he didn't say all that much, he said subject born fever, he said the doctors are cautiously optimistic. do you expect these doctors or the hospital to come out with anything more specific for us? >> i think it's really up to the family. i think the bush family has kept facts very close to the vest, as is appropriate i think. after all he is an 88-year-old

man. we don't want to over speculate, we don't want to start hanging crepe all over the place worried about the president, but we are in fact ror read abou worried about his health an is in the icu and not responding to tylenol and other means of handling ace temperature. he has been on steroids, they a ten ooh wait the immune system. he's 88 so icy immunity system is already attenuated because of his age. we have a guy who may be soup every infectesuper even investigated which may be a community acquired pneumonia. there are all kind of things we can speculate b. the doctors are all concerned about that. i'm sure they are taking appropriate actions. the fact that he's in the icu in guarded condition shouldn't make us worry inappropriately but we should be very cautious.

that's what they are saying cautious optimism. that's what i have. >> chairman of the department of medicine at newark hospital. thank you. >> thank you for having me. gregg: a war of words erupting on capitol hill. moments ago harry reid took to the floor of the u.s. senate and blasted the house speaker john boehner a kaoutsing the speake accusing him of putting his career ahead of middle class families. >> the american people i don't think understand the house of representatives is operating without the house o representatives. it's being opted with a dictatorship of the speaker not allowing the representatives to get what they want. if the 250 would be brought up it would pass overwhelmingly, i repeat. gregg: a dictatorship. how about that?

republican leadership has said it's up to the u.s. senate to act first, because the house has already passed two bills related to the fiscal cliff, so we'll wait and see what happens there. as if parking wasn't frustrating enough, one city is boosting its meter rates to become the country's most expensive place to park. would you believe $6.50 an hour? we'll tell you where. patti ann: canadian companies trying to fill hundreds of jobs by recruiting americans. >> it's a real boon to canada, we're happy to bring americans in, there are a lot of similarities, similar cultures, similar training, they work on similar equipment, it's a natural for us. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso.

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patti ann: danger on the tracks in dole louisiana wear when part of a train derailed causing a propane tanker and cars carrying gravel to overturn. no leaks were reported but people nearby were understandably concerned. >> it's very scary to me. we have small children, you know, propane is of course flammable and it's not good to be in the soil so it's very scary, and if it can happen right in our backyard it can happen anywhere i guess. but we are just lucky that it

wasn't closer to our house. >> there is a southern train, at least several cars of gravel and procee propane. the residents have been asked to evacuate so the situation can be actually assessed and the situation can be dealt with. >> my daughters went to the bank and they had a lot of roads closed. we had to go around quite a few streets to get to the bank. i'm supposed to hear there was a proceed pine tank that went offer the rail. we are fortunate nobody was hurt and no injuries or anything. patti ann: there is no word on what caused the derailment and no injuries so far reported. gregg: are you looking for a job? canada is hiring in an attempt to increase oil production canadian energy companies are trying to lure out of work americans across the border. california is a prime target for that. anita vogel joins us live from los angeles. hi. >> reporter: hi, there, gregg.

can days looking to double its oil production over the next ten years. he has plenty of oil to tap but not enough workers to help secure it. some firms are willing to pay top dollar to convince americans to head north. >> electricians, ml ii spayed wrights. >> reporter: can days looking for a few good men and women. >> a lot of people are retiring. we have infrastructure projects. mines being built, ports, all the infrastructure oil and gas, it's kind of endless. >> reporter: british columbia and alberta predict a stkeuld workeskilled worker shortage of 150,000 over the next decade and are recruising american workers. >> the kind of positions that are open are people who are engineers, people who have welding skills, people who have skill sets in construction. it's a wide range.

>> reporter: john lafontaine is one of six people who stood in line at a job fair during palm springs, california. he wants to make the move to support his two young children. >> the opportunity presents itself you might as well reach out and grab it and take advantage of it while you're thr-frpblgtsz an opportunity that could pay him almost double his current salary and in the end help both nations. >> it's a win beings, win, it's an example of a true partnership. it there definitely be an economic impact in can tkafrpblgts frocanada. >> reporter: we are told from the job fair two applicants are in a close to hire process. on "happening now" we will talk to americans who made the move north up to canada and see who i life is going for them. gregg: palm springs to british columbia, okay, sorry, it's not even close.

anita sroelg. >> reporter: novogel. >> reporter: not happening for you. gregg: not happening for me. patti ann: the united states is set to hit its debt limit on sunday. doug holtz eakin will tell us what emergency plans soon could go into place. ♪

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to find out more, request your free decision guide. call or go online today. after all, when you're going the distance, it's nice to have the experience and commitment to go along with you. keep dreaming. keep doing. go long. patti ann: president obama is set to arrive in washington within the next hour or so cutting short his vacation to resume negotiations to avert the tax hikes set to kick in on

january 1st. that of course is a few days away and so far no word of any kind of deal. molly henneberg joins us live from the white house. hi, molly, what do we expect today from the president? >> reporter: hi, patti ann, the president was supposed to come back to d.c. after the new year. as you were saying he's en route from hawaii to washington for any last-minute fiscal cliff talks. he left his wife and two daughters in hawaii when he left last night hawaii time. he has been in touch with harry reid's office over the holidays and we did get a scheduled update that the vice president will be here at the white house today for meetings. at this point not a lot of encouraging signs coming out of the white house or capitol hill that a fiscal cliff deal is in sight. patti ann: are there any other meetings set with house republicans? >> reporter: nothing yet, although that can change. we do know that house republican speaker john boehner is still in his home state of ohio. his spokesman says he'll update if there are any travel changes,

meaning he'll let us know if the speaker decides to come become to washington for any kind of meetings. house republicans say they passed the stopgap measure extending all existing tax cuts and are pressing the senate to approve it. in a statement yesterday the house g.o.p. leadership said quote the lines of communication remain open and we will continue to work with our colleagues to avert the largest tax hike in american history, and to address the underlying problems which is spending. we just heard from the top senate democrat harley reid respondinharry reid responding to the statement. here is what he said. >> this happy talk that this republican house leadership said yesterday, let him take our bill. mr. president that bill was brought up and defeated. i refeet the american peopl repeat the american people do not agree with the republicans in the house and the republicans over here. >> reporter: the senate is back in session today, the house is not. patti ann: molly henneberg live ph washington, thank you.

gregg: as washington debates the fiscal cliff we are also days away from another financial crisis. the u.s. government is poised to hit its debt limit on monday. what happens if congress doesn't raise the debt sealing? douglas holtz ee eakin is a former director of the nonpartisan budget direction office and is president of american action firearm. thapblgs for being with us. what happens if they don't raise the ceiling? >> ultimately congress has to raise the ceiling. it's simply naive to believe you could ever put the level of spending kick quickly become to the level of revenues and not have to borrow some more. it doesn't have to happen until february or march. ment soak of the treasury has a lot of tools available to push off when you actually hit the debt limit. waoes going the's going to do that and run the usual bag of tricks to avoid the debt ceiling.

gregg: timothy geithner can move money around between now and february. we don't really need to panic, do we? >> no, you don't need to panic. essentially the he secretary of the treasury will raid retirement funds them appraiser raoerbgs the treasury also has a slush fund left over from when we had fixed exchange rates. it's called the exchange stabilization fund. there is about $20 billion he can raid. there are $200 billion to run the government while song gets utus past the fiscal cliff. >> the last time this happened in july of 2011, the credit rating was downgraded. the government's, not mine, but i guess i live here. that could happen again, right? >> we have seen that the politics are raising the debt ceiling are quite difficult. in 2011 your right what standard & poors said is americans political problems appear to be severe enough that they can't

take care of business. we'll see if we have the same trouble this time around. the thing to remember is that the real problem is not the debt limit it's the debt. if they get serious about a deal to take down some of the debt and stop the growth they can take care of the debt limit in the same process. gregg: when the government dominates the credit marketplace by absorbing all of those borrowed dollars, doesn't that steal those dollars away from american businesses that it would seem to me desperately need phepl t them to keep operating. >> it's called crowding out. that is implications for investment. it has implications for our ability to export. those dollars finance exports. very big implications for the next generation that will face much higher taxes, or much reduced standard of living if we don't take care of that borrowing. gregg: does incredible debt depress economic growth? >> all the evidence is if you get to a level of debt that is

the size of the u.s. debt, 100% of the economy, $16 trillion, that you grow about a percentage point slower every year, that means about a million jobs in the current context and that's the price we are paying for our large debt. gregg: a million jobs lost because of our 16-point now $4 trillion debt. >> yeah, as you know there are millions of americans out of work, so for congress and the white house to really get serious about the debt would be one of the best thins we could dthings we could do to spur the recovery to lead to faster growth and more jobs. gregg: part of president obama's answer is to provide more stimulus, $50 billion in additional government spending, which would only add to the debt and deficit. what impact does that have? >> i think that have essentially no impact. the u.s. has been growing since june of 2009. this is not a case where the government needs to step in and stop a free fall.

the problem is we're growing too slowly. we are growing at rates that are 1, 1.5, 2%, and we should be growing at rates of 3 and 4%. to do that we need permanent fixes. fixes to entitlement programs, tax reform, that's the recipe for more rapid growth. it's also the same recipe for fixing the debt. gregg: how about 7 and 8% growth which is what happened this ronald reagan reduced the tabgts rates. the tax rates. >> that would be phenomenal. we haven't seen that since the 1980s. it will take a very big pla change in the playbook in washington for that to happen h. gregg: thank you very much. >> thank you. gregg: what will it cost you if washington can't make a deal before next week, something that is looking more and more likely? you can find out all you need to know on our website foxnews.com/politics. patti ann: new details now on a

technological brea breakthrough that has incredible benefit for people who are paralyzed. dr. marc siegl is a member of the faction medical center and works at langone medical center. good to see you. >> reporter: we are looking at a miracle-type treatment using a robot where paralyzed people can walk today. i visited mt. sinai hospital in new york one of 30 hospitals around the country that are experimenting with this so-called exo skeleton. a 40-pound computer driven device. i caught up a manny maldonado who was paralyzed in a herbal car crash. he calls himself a test pilot for this game changer. he's thrilled to be back on his feet and he says the benefits go beyond the possibility of walking again. let's watchmanee. >> confidence booster, circulation feels a lot better, the breathing, able to sleep

better at night, spasms decreased. bladder control. that is basically everything. patti ann: that is absolutely incredible. so who came up with this exo skeleton. >> reporter: believe it or not it was the u.s. military. they said how are we going to take 200 pounds and put it on someone's back and make it go across the desert? the answer was this robot. the real life ironman uses two lithium batteries, motors, computer chips on a hand-opted console. the rehabilitation medicine people got a hold of it and now it has immediate potential for home use. it's a friendly robot allowing a paralyzed person to use warms arms and upper body to start the motion and the function ever the moving of the legs is left to the exo skeleton. i charged to the doctor in charge of the project and he said years of research on chemicals and nerve growth factors for paralysis haven't

born fruit. now it's being eclipsed by this new technology. >> technology will be the breakthrough that will allow them to be back on their feet, walk about, and perhaps a lot sooner than we will see the result from the biology, the cellular-based research and the various laboratories across the world. >> reporter: one downside we are is cost, up to $140,000 for a single unit, that's a lot. will insurance cover it? the potential up side is huge. this may soon be available for paralyzed patients everywhere, replacing many of the common uses of the wheelchair. patti ann: the future is now. that is incredible. >> reporter: technology instead of chemicals, the wave of the future. he was just a happy person, manny, he said this changed his life. patti ann: you could sell he said his confidence and everything. we'll see what happens with the insurance. good to see you. >> reporter: great to see you patti ann. patti ann: you too. gregg: lawmakers only have a few

days to reach a deal on automatic tax hikes and spending cuts. house republicans say the ball is now in the president's and the senate's court. coming up next we'll talk to a republican about the state of the negotiations. patti ann: remember the days when you dropped a quarter in the parking meter? well, in the windy city those days are long gone. wait until you here how much chicago is about to start charging for an hour of parking. ♪ aww man. [ male announcer ] returns are easy with free pickup from the u.s. postal service. we'll even drop off boxes if you need them. visit usps.com pay, print, and have it picked up for free. any time of year. ♪ nice sweater.

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gregg: beginning on new year's day chicago will become the most expensive city for parking on the street. meters in the downtown loop will begin charging $6.50 an hour next tuesday, up from $5.75. the deat company that open operates the meters wants all the machines at the new rates by the end of february. patti ann: speaker of the house john boehner responding to senate majority leader harry reid's slam, take a listen. >> the american people i don't think understand the house of representatives is operating without the house of representatives. it's being operated with a dictatorship of the speaker, not allowing the vast majority of the house of representatives to

get what they want. patti ann: well the speaker's spokesperson person says senator reid should talk less and legislate more. the house has already passed legislation to avoid the entire fiscal cliff, senate democrats have not. so joining us right now south carolina republican make mulvaney of the house budget committee. thank you for being with us. what would you say is the most important thing you'd like people to know about this budget debate? >> that the house actually has acted. i know that sounds contrived, i know it sounds like it's just talking points, but it's actually true. the house has actually extended these tax rates for everybody in the entire country, which is exactly the correct policy as we see it. beefee sent it to the senate, the senate has simply refused to take it up. the senate could fix this today if they wanted to. i understand that while harry reid is in the well today in the senate complaining about mr. boehner he has not scheduled a debate about on the fiscal cliff which is just absurd. if there is one message to go out there it's that the house has actually done its job and

the senate could fix this today if they wanted to. patti ann: you are in north carolina which says a lot. the house right now, no plans to convene unless there is a deal to vote on. both sides obviously saying the ball is in the other court. what is going to happen here? >> i think we're going over the cliff. i've been saying for months i thought we were going over the cliff because, frankly, i believe it's what the president wants. if you go back and look at how he's handled this negotiation from the very beginning, go back and look at what his own administration has been telling him for years, and that is that tax rates need to go up on everybody. this has pw-pb been the president's position i believe from the very beginning. i think that's where we w up. what happens after that i think depends in large part on who gets blamed. we are going over the cliff for a brief period ever time. patti ann: lawmakers are saying if that does happen don't panic because immediately after that both side would put together legislation to restore the tax cuts on all but the wealthist

americans, so that all of these tax increases that people are panicking over are really not going to take affect. they will be rolled back by new ledge ration almost immediately, but the question is, at what level will they keep those increases in place? >> sure. i think a lot of that has to do with who gets blamed. if the president gets blamed then i think you'll see one level. if the republicans get blamed you'll see another. keep in mind, again i think the president wants to go over the cliff, and would stay there in he politically could figure out a way to do that. keep in mind what goes away next week, it's the bush tax cuts which the democrats have loathed since they went into place a decade ago and severe military cuts which many folks in the military party would love if they could blame something else. don't think the president wants to cut a deal, i think he wants to see if he gets blamed for it before he starts negotiating.

patti ann: we saw harry reid saying the earlier plan on raising taxes on people making 250,000 and more will pass overwhelmingly. and republicans are acting like dictators. how do you respond to that rhetoric. >> he's having difficulty getting his folks to some of his plans. there was a report today that a recently reside are democrat member of the house, now the mayor of san diego was complaining about the kpw same thing out of the pelosi leadership for several years. let's look at what is more important. harry reid is there today, instead of taking up the bill that he should be taking up he's using this to make political points. i think that says a lot of about where we are heading. patti ann: congressman thank you for joining us. >> thank you for having me. gregg: fox news alert just learned now that the head of the epa, the environmental protection agency, is quitting. lisa jackson announcing she will leave her post next month. during her tenure she pushed

through some of the toughest regulations on vehicle emissions and coal processing plants, proptin prompting republicans to accuse her of waging war on coal. president obama praised her for her work. in enacting those reforms. she reportedly has not accepted any other job at this time and she was in a bit of trouble for some of her email accounts recently. and some of her other remarks as well. let's go to jon scott, what is happening now, jon johnsto. jon: the president and lawmakers are supposed to be getting back to work in washington today. house speaker john boehner says the onus to avoid the fiscal cliff is now on the senate. this is a new poll shows the american people are quickly losing faith that a deal will get struck. imagine that. there is some good economic news in the forecast for 2013, we'll

have that for you, and some more good news, a silver lining in a battle against childhood obesity. that report ahead as well when harris faulkner and i see you at the top of the hour. "happening now." gregg: you're full of good news. jon: trying to be, you know. gregg: one good news story after another, jon scott. jon: you got people digging out of a blizzard today, you've got a fiscal cliff coming. we've got to have good news somewhere, gregg. gregg: we'll tune in for your good news. jon scott thank you very much. patti ann: back to the bad news a fierce winter storm leaving travelers stranded and causing a lot of trouble in the northeast after hitting other parts of the country ain't is still not over. the latest on the storm's path. >> people are still driving a little too fast for the conditions. >> you couldn't see the roads where they split up and divide and i came home about 30 miles an hour the entire way. time for citi price rewind. because your daughter really wants that pink castle thing. and you realldon't want to pay more than you have to.

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patti ann: check this out. a sinkhole in california so big it swallowed part of a city bus. this was the scene in oceanside after a water main break caused the street to collapse. you can see the front of the bus there stuck in the hole with water up to the windows. luckily the driver was the only person on board and he was able to get out. no one was hurt. but a lot of people were affected by the flooding.

>> the water was pretty much up to my tires. >> it kept getting worse. we had water halfway up our driveway. >> when you see standing water you shouldn't drive through it, the bus did and found out there was no road. >> officials shut off the water for much of the day to make repairs. service was restored by last night. gregg: amazing. we've been talking about this powerful since storm slamming the northeast with snow and rain and high wind, now blamed for 12 deaths. hundreds of flights canceled, and dangerous conditions out on the road. it is not over yet. joining us on the phone commissioner jerry hower with the new york state division of homeland security and emergency services. what is the situation right now? how bad is it? >> well, things are getting much better. we still have two nursing homes on generator power in the westchester area.

upstate obviously the roads are still -- we're still receiving some snow. but the department of transportation -- excuse me -- has done a magnificent job. the governor wanted all snow plows, contractors' snow employs out on the roads last night. we did have some road plow closures during the height of the storm but by and large most of the roads are doing pretty well. gregg: this thing -- i live in westchester and it literally blew me off my feet last night as i was trying to get home, but things amazingly this morning seemed to be back in service. >> yeah, as i said earlier, everyone new thi knew this

storm was coming. both the local governments. we were in touch with all the local governments throughout the last two days. we had our emergency operations center open. the state department of transportation, and the local state department of transportation and the local dog's really did a magnificent job. they were ready for it, they had crews out on the streeter lee, and they were able to get things open for rush-hour again this morning. gregg: jerry, what are you telling residents right now? >> we are telling residents to -- a couple of things, one, be cautious about downed power lines. we did have at the height of the storm we had about 6,000 people without power, which was -- i'm sorry, i was up all night. we've asked them to be very cautious around power lines.

we also, because the weather -- the temperatures are going to get colder, we are cautioning them about black ice. the weather is going to warm up a bit, then it's going to get cold again and you run into situations with black ice. gregg: you do. people slipping and sliding everywhere and breaking their elbows. all right, good luck to you. thank you very much. >> well, thank you. patti ann: okay. we are live in some of the areas hardest hit by the storm in a few minutes. [ male announcer ] the more you lose, the more you lose, because for every two pounds you lose through diet and exercise, alli can help you lose one more by blocking some of the fat you eat.

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